


Galileo, the Flipside.

by Leni



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:18:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sheldon and the gang meet wizards. This starts five minutes later....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Galileo, the Flipside.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scratchingpost1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scratchingpost1/gifts).



Sheldon blinked once. Twice. "No."

The other people in the living room expected him to continue, but Sheldon couldn't imagine what else needed to be said. In cases like this, brevity was not only the soul of wit but the embodiment of centuries of human enlightenment.

Trust the less enlightened in their midst to keep stubbornly pushing ahead. 

"Sheldon? They vanished into thin air." Penny made a motion with her hands, like a small explosion. " _Poof!_ "

Her actions not only confirmed his belief to never allow her to be on his team on Charades Night, they also proved that those deprived of an elevated IQ level could not be trusted to interpret reality. "Some cheap trick," he scoffed. "Like Howard and Koothrappali's card-guessing 'magic'."

Koothrappali immediately bent to whisper in Howard's ear, but Howard, looking paler than usual, was already raising his hand. "That had _nothing_ -"

"Enough!" Sheldon gave them all a disappointed glare. He tried, and tried, and _tried_ to bring these people to a higher understanding of the universe, and time and again they reminded him of how undeserving they were. "Our food has obviously been tempered with, provoking a sort of group hallucination that -"

"I had lunch at home!" Howard protested.

"- has ensnared us all." Sheldon was reluctant to admit that his own intellect had been on the verge of being another prey to this madness, but was relieved by having been the first to break free. "The more we pay attention to it, the more time it'll take to get over these most appalling consequences. I suggest we start by getting rid -"

"Wait. Wait. _Wait_." Leonard didn't even look abashed at interrupting the lay of the plans that would save their minds. Really, it was as if they didn't care. "I know what I saw; I know what I heard; and most of all, I know what I touched. What I'm _still_ touching." He raised the picture that he'd taken from the coffee table when their hallucinations had left. "Explain _this_ , Sheldon."

The dark-haired teenager in the picture - a younger, fuller version of Dr. Goyle - glowered up at him, his eyebrows coming together in a surly frown.

"I - I...." Sheldon clamped his mouth shut. He ran through every chemical that could aid to such a visual effect, and felt his fingers start to twitch the longer he came up with no answer. "I do not believe one of our esteemed colleagues would run from the law," he finally said.

A chorus of groans echoed his words, Leonard's being the loudest. "How is _that_ the point of this conversation?"

Sheldon straightened to his full length, staring down at his housemate. Physical advantage was a poor substitute to the gap - no, the abyss - between his genius and Leonard's more earthy intelligence, but Sheldon's brain was too busy solving the problem. Towering over Leonard would have to do. "How is that _not_ the point?" he asked slowly, his voice a little higher than he'd wished. "Strangers come up to us, asking for help to infiltrate the labs - _our_ labs - and apprehend one of _ours_. A lesser scientist, true - and I apply the word lightly, seeing how Goyle believes in star-mapping and has made several comments implying he actually thinks his studies will tell the future!" He had complained to Dr. Gablehouser for weeks after the new arrival made his views known; he'd gone as far as to follow the proper channels (though he suspected his numerous letters had been as ignored as his verbal grievances). "Be that as it may, I would assume that we owe Dr. Goyle some loyalty; excluding Penny, of course. But that's only because she doesn't know better."

"Hey!"

Leonard put a hand on Penny's shoulder, shaking his head. Sheldon made a note of Penny's reaction: one more scowl in his direction followed by settling back on the couch. It seemed that the influence Leonard had gained as a boyfriend had not disappeared along with their romantic liaison. Hm. Interesting.

Meanwhile, Leonard seemed to be considering his words. "But the things they said...."

Sheldon snorted. "Nothing but slanderous accusations. No court order. Not even plausible evidence of those supposed crimes, much less proof."

"Did you forget the part where they _vanished in thin air_?" Howard asked, his eyes still wider than usual.

"Don't steal my lines," Penny mumbled testily, shooting a glare at Howard.

Sheldon would never admit to the relief of having Penny's temper aimed at someone else. That woman was impossible to reason with when she was in a good mood; when she considered herself slighted, she became an exhausting annoyance to deal with and was best left under Leonard's care, regardless the status of their relationship.

"Yes, Sheldon," Leonard pressed. "How do you explain a human being sitting in that very spot -" He pointed at the stool next to the kitchen counter. "- and disappearing just like that."

The attempt to click his fingers didn't work - Leonard was all thumbs at such things - but the point was made.

"Well." Sheldon took a deep breath. " _If_ those so-called Ministry agents were indeed real," he said while ignoring the simultaneous roll of eyes in the others, "then obviously they created a distraction that allowed them to reach the door and let themselves out."

Howard gave him a look. "Without opening it?"

The locked door, complete with padlocks and bolts, mocked him.

(It was the week statistically proved as the most criminally active in Pasadena; it was _smart_ to be prepared, no matter how often the other members of his social group whined about it.)

Sheldon grappled for logic. "The fire escape window?"

"Please, stop it! It was magic, real magic, and we're damn lucky not to be Obliviated. Accept it!"

Koothappali's outburst was followed by stunned silence, as all eyes veered between him and Penny. She opened her mouth a couple times, and then broke into a huge smile. "Oh, sweetie! I'm _so_ proud."

Koothrappali reddened to the top of his ears and looked away, lips clamped shut again.

Howard patted his friend's back, and when he spoke, he did it with a slow voice, far from the overconfident tone they were familiar with. "I think we all knew it'd take an act of God or supernatural power to make Rajesh do this. And since I didn't see wings or halos anywhere...."

"Supernatural it is," Leonard breathed.

"Magic, huh?" Penny looked overjoyed at the idea.

"Stop right there." Sheldon shook his head in despair. "I must -"

"If you say 'protest', I'll move out." Leonard's glare softened when he took notice of Sheldon's face. "I know it's difficult to accept, Sheldon. But now that we have irrefutable proof -" He pointed at the moving picture. "Think of all we can do with the information."

Sheldon allowed himself to entertain that thought. If energy could indeed be channeled into moving a physical body of great mass across a significant distance.... "We could build our own teletransporter," he mused aloud.

Leonard and Howard grinned at that idea, even Penny joined in. Sheldon felt a rush of pride at having influenced that stubborn woman for the better, interrupted only by the sight of Koothrappali's anguished expression. Before he could ask, Penny had moved to kneel beside their friend and take his hand - was it shaking? - in hers.

"Raj?" Penny patted Koothrappali's wrist. "Is this about that 'oblivious' thing? Because even Sheldon is getting over it."

It was Sheldon's turn to bite out an indignant "Hey!"

"Not 'oblivious'," Howard said, looking uncharacteristically pensive. "He said 'obliviate'."

Everyone else frowned. 

"Obliv-what?"

Koothrappali glanced up at Leonard's question, looking as desperate as when he'd been on the verge of being deported back to India, and shook his head.

"Will you tell if I leave?" Penny asked softly.

Another head shake.

Sheldon took stock of the situation and let out an impatient sigh. Really. These people could not grasp the _importance_ of this moment. Forget the Nobel Prize, he was going to put the scientific world on its knees! "You decide what to do about Dr. Goyle," he told them, having lost all interest in the man - except perhaps to quiz him about this interesting development. He drew the line at astrological ravings, though. " _I_ am going to change the world."

He heard Koothrappali's groan behind him.

_Tough._

He'd just called dibs on that spot in history.

 

The End  
07/01/12


End file.
